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Advise needed please - 2011 13" Macbook Pro - Faulty

D

dabbler

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 21, 2009
69
0
Hi fellow Mac users,

I really hope some one can advise me please. To cut a long story short, I have a 2011 MacBook Pro with 3 years apple care. Two weeks ago it would not switch on so I left it charging over night, the next morning I switched it on - nothing except the white light blinking.

I took it to the local authorised repair shop who diagnosed the problem as a faulty logic board. However they wont repair under warranty as they suspect water damage!

The laptop was bought new and to my knowledge has never got wet. The engineer confirms the water sensors have also not been triggered. He infact seemed puzzled that it was damaged!

End result, apple wont repair it under warranty and want approx £700 + VAT for a new logic board!!!!

Attached is a pic of the damage, I really need it back in action asap, im in the UK - can any one advise of a reputable company that could repair the logic board or part exchange it for a working one please?

Many thanks in advance,



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
You're only option (short of paying for he repair) is to fight. I'd ask to speak to a supervisor and explain the situation and if that fails, keep asking to go up the food chain until you get the resolution you hope for. If the sensors are not triggered they really shouldn't deny the warranty.

I'd also file a complaint with your local consumer board/attorney general
 
Go above what reads like an authorized, but 3rd party repair shop, and either call Apple directly or visit an Apple store.
 
shardey said:
So they couldn't prove that it sustained water damage, but they are blaming that?
Click to expand...

They say it "looks like water damage" and therefore won't honour the warranty, they admitted that the water sensors are fine

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miles01110 said:
You are not going to be able to fix that. It looks like two of the pins on the connecter are burned off, along with one (or several) layer of the circuit board.
Click to expand...

Burned off? So it could be a component failure and not the water damage they claim?

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jenzjen said:
Go above what reads like an authorized, but 3rd party repair shop, and either call Apple directly or visit an Apple store.
Click to expand...

I called Apple and their UK customer relations lady spoke to the engineer, the engineer insists its water damage and is hinting that its been opened and components even removed / swapped! They checked the serial numbers in the end and all components in the laptop match the correct serials though

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maflynn said:
You're only option (short of paying for he repair) is to fight. I'd ask to speak to a supervisor and explain the situation and if that fails, keep asking to go up the food chain until you get the resolution you hope for. If the sensors are not triggered they really shouldn't deny the warranty.

I'd also file a complaint with your local consumer board/attorney general
Click to expand...

Yes it looks like thats the only way, the Apple customer relations lady said to try to claim on insurance (which i can't as the laptop is not covered) or claim on my credit card (which i have not called yet). Its so frustrating, I've spend thousands on apple products, phones, iPads, apple tv's, iMac's and macbook's - Ive never made one warranty claim and when I do they try to cause me of damage! Quite upsetting...
 
Dabbler, can I suggest you contact Consumer Direct. They will help you put a letter together quoting the Sale of Goods Act regarding your faulty product.

If the water sensors are ok and they now know you have not replaced any parts, I don't see what they can do except fix it for you.

I usually find, just telling shops that you have taken legal advice from Consumer Direct, who can pass the information on to Trading Standards, is often enough to make them see sense.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governm...merrightswhenbuyinggoodsandservices/DG_182935

Good luck.
 
Listen, if I was in that situation I would have went off at the guy who told me that he "thought" it was water damage. These people always think they know everything, and the fact that they deny you service even though the stickers are white and there is NO LIQUID residue on the board is totally ridiculous.

That damage is caused by an overvoltage or short on those two pins, and my best hunch is that there was faulty circuitry that burnt those pins. In my experience I've seen an issue with a unibody late 08, which had a broken PMU that overvolted a power line, and burnt off a mosfet. Luckily I ordered parts from digikey, and replaced the bad mosfet.

Now, in order to burn the pcb like that, there needs to be a high voltage coming into that area. I think that those pins are for LVDS data, and wouldnt carry high enough voltage to do that kind of damage. Something seems fishy about that board, did you find it like that after the repair or before?
 
evitica said:
theres gotta be more to the story...

apple tends to be hospitable to customers with new purchases especially with apple care.
Click to expand...
While I agree and I've had nothing but great experiences with AppleCare (we have the 3 year on both of our laptops); he's in Europe, maybe it's different across the pond?
 
DWBurke811 said:
While I agree and I've had nothing but great experiences with AppleCare (we have the 3 year on both of our laptops); he's in Europe, maybe it's different across the pond?
Click to expand...

The OP didn't go to apple, he went to an AASP, which is a store that is authorized to provide service for macs. If he went to the apple store, they would have replaced it with a new logic board. Apple stores follow a strict policy, if the product is suspected to have water damage, however there is no evidence of it, then they have to cover the product under warranty. If the damage was not at the fault of the OP, and he is being denied warranty service, then he probably has some legal recourse.

The only problem here that I could see is if the AASP has update the computer's record to show a history of liquid damage. You'd have a hard time fighting that, even though no water damage was visible on the board by the service provider, since apple will likely side with the service provider.
 
Looks like you got a faulty unit. Apple SHOULD replace it, especially since the person who looked at it said that the water sensors haven't been used. Like numerous people before me said, you should fight for it. Especially since you haven't done anything to damage the computer.
 
Unless there is proof they have to fix it.
Call customer relations and threaten to go to news shows with your story, that has worked for me before when Telstra was charging us for broadband we didn't sign up for.
 
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